Maternal and perinatal outcomes in pregnant women infected by SARS-CoV-2: A meta-analysis

Bellos, Ioannis; Pandita, Aakash; Panza, Raffaella

Evidence concerning coronavirus disease-19 (covid-19) in pregnancy is still scarce and scattered. This meta-analysis aims to evaluate maternal and neonatal outcomes in covid-19 pregnancies and identify factors associated with perinatal viral transmission. Medline, Scopus, CENTRAL, Web of Science and Google Scholar databases were systematically searched to 3 June 2020. Overall, 16 observational studies and 44 case reports/series were included. Fever was the most frequent maternal symptom, followed by cough and shortness of breath, while about 15% of infected were asymptomatic. Severe disease was estimated to occur in 11% of women in case reports/series and in 7% (95% CI: 4%-10%) in observational studies. Two maternal deaths were reported. The rate of neonatal transmission did not differ between women with and without severe disease (OR: 1.94, 95% CI: 0.50-7.60). Preterm birth occurred in 29.7% and 16% (95% CI: 11%- 21%) in data obtained from case series and observational studies, respectively. Stillbirth occurred in 3 cases and 2 neonatal deaths were observed. Vertical transmission was suspected in 4 cases. Fever was the most common neonatal symptom (40%), followed by shortness of breath (28%) and vomiting (24%), while 20% of neonates were totally asymptomatic. In conclusion, the maternal and neonatal clinical course the infection is typically mild, presenting low mortality rates. The risk of vertical transmission is suggested to be low and may not be affected by the severity of maternal disease. Further large-scale studies are needed to clarify the risk factors associated with viral transmission and severe infection in the neonatal population.